This year is my one-year anniversary at Pulse Marketing and what a year it’s been.

Being my first full-time graphic design job out of college, I never thought I would have learned and grown this much already.

Here are 3 things I wish I would have known a year ago, when starting this journey.

Don’t be afraid to be creative

I know this sounds like a funny tip, since I am a graphic designer, but above all, I am a total rule-following nerd. I love rules and sometimes, brand guidelines become a cage I struggle to get out of. Toward the end of this year, I began challenging myself to have more fun and to break free from that cage, while also keeping my designs well branded. This has been a process for me, but I believe I am finally naturally having more fun and exploring new ways to be creative.

Ask for feedback

Another nerdy thing about me is that I really do like getting feedback, as long as it’s put nicely. I always want to know how I can improve my designs or even myself. I know when I ask for feedback, it is coming from other unique perspectives. I personally place high value on this because everyone comes from different backgrounds and has wisdom from individual life histories.

I have always had this view, but when I started at Pulse, I was a little more nervous to ask for feedback from those with more experience. I knew they had quality wisdom to share, but I was afraid of looking like I didn’t know what I was doing. I had gone to school for graphic design, but had no real-life experience in the field yet.

What later clicked is that everyone is still learning and one thing I love about Pulse, is how willing everyone is to help each other grow. No one was judging me. This gave me confidence to start more openly asking for design feedback.

Become a life-long learner

To me, this is the most important thing that I wish I knew a year ago. Before graduating college, you have spent the last 21 years (if not more) of your life studying and learning. When I graduated, I was so excited to not be in school anymore and to just focus on designing, but no one told me how strange it would feel to not be a student anymore.

This caused me to change my perspective on post-grad life. I now look at every design project as a learning opportunity and I am more motivated to learn and grow in my own time as well. The difference now is that I get to study things I am passionate about. For example, I recently finished a HubSpot social media certification course and passed the exam at the end. Passing that exam gave me a sense of accomplishment I forgot about and craved. Now, I want to devote time to learning another language.

In summary, don’t be afraid to be creative, ask for feedback, and become a life-long learner. These are the top 3 things I wish I knew a year ago. Your top 3 may be completely different, but I challenge you to look back and evaluate where you have grown and what you wish you knew. I also challenge you to look at my top 3 and ask yourself if they are relevant to you and how you can apply them in your life.

Written for Pulse Marketing December 2018

Choosing a college major can be daunting.

Many students go back and forth between majors a few times before deciding on what they want to do with the rest of their lives.

I was a journalism major before deciding writing wasn’t necessarily my thing and that I was destined to be a graphic designer.

For the prospective graphic designers out there, here are 3 of my favorite things about being one:

YOU GET PAID TO BE CREATIVE.

This sounds like such a DUH thing to be thankful for, but during college this is what I worked so hard for.

Now, every time I’m sketching out ideas for a logo, playing with layouts, or looking for inspiration on Pinterest, and I look at my time clock running,

I get so stoked.

This is the dream.

IT’S A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT.

At an agency, I get to work with other older and wiser designers.

As a young designer, this is a really cool way for me to keep growing and to continue learning.

Not only am I getting input from other designers, but I get to hear other perspectives on design from our Intelligence Team or maybe the project manager.

For these reasons, I don’t recommend going freelance straight out of college.

I personally believe that there is so much learning left to do post-grad, in a creative team setting.

Although, if you do decide to go freelance right away or are already freelancing, collaboration is still possible.

You probably have other designer or creative friends. It’s always a great idea to get a fresh, outside perspective on a project, especially if you are feeling stuck.

IT’S A PRETTY LAID-BACK CAREER CHOICE.

I have always wanted a job where I don’t have to be all fancy and uncomfortable at work.

A job where I get to still have creative freedom in my clothing choices as an adult. And let me tell you, I have landed that job as a graphic designer.

I get to come to work in ripped jeans and vans, or even workout clothes if I want to.

I believe fashion is a great way to stay inspired and to show who you truly are as a person.

It seems that much of the creative industry shares this viewpoint and doesn’t enforce a strict professional dress code.

This is especially true if you are freelancing, because then you are your own boss and can wear your pajamas all day.

In addition to personal style, the work environment is very relaxed.

I love that my bosses and coworkers are all pretty chill.

I feel like I can approach my bosses about anything and working with others is inspiring and fun.

Of course, sometimes, we have to pick up the pace if there is a deadline quickly approaching, but overall, I feel like there isn’t a lot of unnecessary stress like in other work environments.

Although, this could just be my experience from working at Pulse Marketing and interning for two other creative agencies.

If you were trying to decide if you wanted to be a graphic designer when you started reading this,

I hope by now I have convinced you to just do it.

Being a graphic designer is a good time and I 10/10 recommend.

Written for Pulse Marketing